Large Scale Visitor Squad ship

morrris99 · 04-30-2010, 08:20 PM

Hello all! Thought I would share some progress pictures of what I'm working on right now. It's a large scale Classic V 3 pod (squad) ship made from a front and rear casting from good ol' SMT, and the center pods are scratch built. Hope you enjoy the progress pics.

yt · 04-30-2010, 10:51 PM

Awesome! I have never seen one before.

Tim9d9 · 05-01-2010, 05:18 PM

YES! That's gonna be HUGE!! Can't wait to see more pics! Cool idea using the SMT halves. I'm a huge fan of all your smaller scale ships, I'm sure this is going to be incredible!! Keep updating please!

Sluis Van Shipyards · 05-01-2010, 07:52 PM

Very cool! So far I like those designs better than the new show.

morrris99 · 05-01-2010, 08:44 PM

Thanks, guys. I was hoping there were a few V fans here! Not to hijack my own thread, but here's a Monsters in Motion classic V Mothership I painted as a comission for someone a few years back. All the little windows are hand painted one at a time, and I think I used about 5 different shades of grey for the ship. Panels all masked off individually. Anyways, I'll be posting some more progress of the Squad vehicle soon. The ship will be built with foam core board, balsa wood, and styrene sheeting. I'll be using threaded rod to keep everything together.

morrris99 · 05-01-2010, 08:47 PM

But, just to be clear, THIS is what I'm building...

eimb1999 · 05-01-2010, 10:27 PM

Looks good so far! :-)

morrris99 · 05-02-2010, 01:09 AM

First picture, all the pod pieces cut and ready to assemble. Next picture is a mockup of the approximate size when completed. Almost too big for my desk! Next, sheeting the model with styrene!

Lestat · 05-02-2010, 04:13 AM

wow, very cool, can't wait to see it finished!

MooCriket · 05-02-2010, 03:11 PM

That looks fantastic

Pretty soon all you'll need is some modded toy visitors to go with it

morrris99 · 05-03-2010, 12:09 AM

Okay, all the window outlines here are cut and ready to go. I did these in .040 styrene to give the "depth" look of the inset windows. All of the closeups of these model ships and even the full scale mockups have the windows slightly inset like this. I scaled up a photo of the top of one of the studio models, corrected it for the photo angle, then used that as a template to cut all of them out. Lot of sanding to get the window edges straight. I gave them a slight curve around the inside of the corners, as that's what I can see on all full size/miniature models. I'll be sheeting the pods all around with .040 styrene for a smooth outer skin. What I won't be doing is the model that was shown in the show when Sean Donovan was playing with his friend, and they commented on the little action figures. If you look closely, you can see some sort of small wooden stick or dowel holding up the doors and they are taped on the inside. Also, this model has the wrong rear pod. All of the rear pods on Visitor ships always have the single window on the sides and tops, not the doubles. Anyways, attaching the windows and the rest of the sheeting next!

Lestat · 05-03-2010, 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MooCriket

That looks fantastic

Pretty soon all you'll need is some modded toy visitors to go with it

I agree . that'd be very cool.

and, it's great to see other fans of the real V here! I wonder how many of us there are here?

Robot Monster · 05-03-2010, 04:29 AM

Such a great looking ship. I loved the look of them. They just seemed to functional to me. The small shuttles, troop transports, tankers, they were great designs and far above what they are using in the new show. You are going a great job. Any more details on how you are forming this would be most welcome.

I am not a fan of the new series and find the designs uninspired and the plot boring. Glad to see some old V projects going on.

knightdriver2001 · 05-03-2010, 06:40 AM

I love the photo above of the kids playing with the craft. Note the tooth pick taped in place holding the hatch opened.

I to agree that the new version of this show stinks. A big insult to the
original series. lacks any kind of inspiring designs at all and WAY TO MUCH
CGI in it.

Pegasus_san · 05-03-2010, 06:57 AM

Incredible man!! I´m now watching the 2009 remake.
Those ships looks great so far

Beechy McFly · 05-03-2010, 08:47 AM

* Puts hand up for one * So in if ya offering.. Awesome job as usual.. Pmed ya too..

Tim9d9 · 05-03-2010, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morrris99

...What I won't be doing is the model that was shown in the show when Sean Donovan was playing with his friend, and they commented on the little action figures. If you look closely, you can see some sort of small wooden stick or dowel holding up the doors and they are taped on the inside. Also, this model has the wrong rear pod. All of the rear pods on Visitor ships always have the single window on the sides and tops, not the doubles. Anyways, attaching the windows and the rest of the sheeting next!

Ha! Damn, I never noticed that before! I always loved that ship. Wished I had one as a kid, along with some figures!! I think my brothers and I would've killed each other for it.

Not a fan of the new ships, either. They couldn't hold a candle to these. Everything's looking really great so far!! Keep it up!

starwarsdoc · 05-03-2010, 01:57 PM

Man, I'd buy one of these if you'd sell them. Love it.

MooCriket · 05-03-2010, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lestat

I agree . that'd be very cool.

and, it's great to see other fans of the real V here! I wonder how many of us there are here?

Agreed

I'm sure there are many of us here

morrris99 · 05-03-2010, 09:50 PM

So many things to comment on... I am a HUGE fan of the original ships. I always thought they were truly beautiful AND completely functional. On so much SciFi (ESPECIALLY TREK) there are so many different designs. Practicality wouldn't allow that in real life, I don't think. While I enjoy the cool spaceships like everyone else, there's something to be said for "well thought-out craft with real purpose". The Visitor Spacecraft that were designed by Chuck Davis always inspired me. Much like the Eagle Transporter spacecraft of Space 1999. Function first, aesthetics second. Back on topic, the Visitor Spacecraft have such graceful curves on the front, and the lizard-skin lined underbellies of the Skyfighters gave them that mixture of reptile and machine that just seemed to go together so perfectly. Anyways, next update is the window sections in place and some of the sheeting complete. I ran out of .040 styrene, so I have to get some more.
I do plan to sell this when complete. I don't know what I would ask, and I would probably be open to offers. I was thinking of putting it on the bay and make it continental US only. It's just so big, I think the shipping would be horrendous. Well, I have to finish it first. Thanks for the comments, and please keep watching.

morrris99 · 05-03-2010, 09:55 PM

Also, about the new show. It's hard to find some good pictures of the new transport ships. My first impression of them was some kind of fat space bug-bus. It doesn't look like they're modular or anything like that. Pretty much a "ho-hum". I'm sure some other enterprising individual will build one. For me, it's Classic V all the way!

morrris99 · 05-05-2010, 01:41 AM

Okay, sheeting complete. I'm puttying all the seams now with some squadron green putty. I rounded the pod edges with some styrene 1/4 rounds to keep the basic curve shape around the corners. Has anyone else worked with Foam Core board? I've gone through about 8 or 9 Xacto blades now. Seems like a few cuts through this stuff and there's a real noticeable difference when trying to cut through the outer paper layer. After this is sanded smooth the next step will be the blocky sections on top with what look like vents. On the window pod sections, there seem to be 6 vents (3 on each side of the round disk on the very top) and 10 vents on the door section pods (5 on each side). Thanks for watching!

Tim9d9 · 05-05-2010, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morrris99

Okay, sheeting complete. I'm puttying all the seams now with some squadron green putty. I rounded the pod edges with some styrene 1/4 rounds to keep the basic curve shape around the corners. Has anyone else worked with Foam Core board? I've gone through about 8 or 9 Xacto blades now. Seems like a few cuts through this stuff and there's a real noticeable difference when trying to cut through the outer paper layer. After this is sanded smooth the next step will be the blocky sections on top with what look like vents. On the window pod sections, there seem to be 6 vents (3 on each side of the round disk on the very top) and 10 vents on the door section pods (5 on each side). Thanks for watching!

Moving along nicely! The windows are looking spot on, morrris. And yes, I have used foam core before also! But you've gone through 8 or 9 blades??

I've never noticed that, but I probably haven't cut as much of it. Seems strange. Well, good luck with the next steps! And thanks for taking progress shots like this!!! It's really shaping up!

morrris99 · 05-06-2010, 09:54 PM

Okay, the top sections of the pods are built. I also sanded the corners of the pods. I made these top pieces out of a balsa interior, with a few layers of .015 styrene on top. I cut out the "vent" slots like on all the studio models, and added the round disks at the top. To make the disks, I just drew a circle on some .040 styrene, made a basic cutout of it. I drilled a hole in the center and mounted the styrene on a Dremel mandrel in my drill. I spun the drill and with a steady hand put a little pressure on my circle line with my Xacto blade. The top sections are slightly curved at the top. More putty in the gaps, and next I'll work on the trim around the pods.

fuzzylover · 05-07-2010, 02:19 PM

I'll try to get some photos posted in the next day or two, but upon mention of some visitor figs..........I'm currently sculpting some. They're fully articulated and I plan on having one body with 3 interchangeable heads (one shocktrooper helmet, one 'human' guise with sunglasses and cap, and one lizard reveal).

Perhaps there'll be some way to collaborate.........I'd love to get multiples cast and I've always wanted a ship or two. (I might have the PB to your chocolate!)

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04-30-2010, 08:20 PM	#1
morrris99 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Sunny Arizona Posts: 155	Large Scale Visitor Squad ship Hello all! Thought I would share some progress pictures of what I'm working on right now. It's a large scale Classic V 3 pod (squad) ship made from a front and rear casting from good ol' SMT, and the center pods are scratch built. Hope you enjoy the progress pics. Attached Thumbnails

04-30-2010, 10:51 PM	#2
yt Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,149	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship Awesome! I have never seen one before.

05-01-2010, 05:18 PM	#3
Tim9d9 Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 59	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship YES! That's gonna be HUGE!! Can't wait to see more pics! Cool idea using the SMT halves. I'm a huge fan of all your smaller scale ships, I'm sure this is going to be incredible!! Keep updating please!

05-01-2010, 07:52 PM	#4
Sluis Van Shipyards Join Date: Jul 1999 Location: Miamisburg, OH (near Dayton) Posts: 12,145	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship Very cool! So far I like those designs better than the new show.

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05-01-2010, 08:44 PM	#5
morrris99 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Sunny Arizona Posts: 155	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship Thanks, guys. I was hoping there were a few V fans here! Not to hijack my own thread, but here's a Monsters in Motion classic V Mothership I painted as a comission for someone a few years back. All the little windows are hand painted one at a time, and I think I used about 5 different shades of grey for the ship. Panels all masked off individually. Anyways, I'll be posting some more progress of the Squad vehicle soon. The ship will be built with foam core board, balsa wood, and styrene sheeting. I'll be using threaded rod to keep everything together. Attached Thumbnails

05-01-2010, 08:47 PM	#6
morrris99 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Sunny Arizona Posts: 155	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship But, just to be clear, THIS is what I'm building... Attached Thumbnails

05-01-2010, 10:27 PM	#7
eimb1999 Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Nova Scotia, Canada Posts: 63	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship Looks good so far! :-) Last edited by eimb1999; 05-02-2010 at 10:25 AM.

05-02-2010, 01:09 AM	#8
morrris99 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Sunny Arizona Posts: 155	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship First picture, all the pod pieces cut and ready to assemble. Next picture is a mockup of the approximate size when completed. Almost too big for my desk! Next, sheeting the model with styrene! Attached Thumbnails

05-02-2010, 04:13 AM	#9
Lestat Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Sirius Posts: 79	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship wow, very cool, can't wait to see it finished!

05-02-2010, 03:11 PM	#10
MooCriket Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Baltimore MD Posts: 5,839	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship That looks fantastic Pretty soon all you'll need is some modded toy visitors to go with it

05-03-2010, 12:09 AM	#11
morrris99 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Sunny Arizona Posts: 155	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship Okay, all the window outlines here are cut and ready to go. I did these in .040 styrene to give the "depth" look of the inset windows. All of the closeups of these model ships and even the full scale mockups have the windows slightly inset like this. I scaled up a photo of the top of one of the studio models, corrected it for the photo angle, then used that as a template to cut all of them out. Lot of sanding to get the window edges straight. I gave them a slight curve around the inside of the corners, as that's what I can see on all full size/miniature models. I'll be sheeting the pods all around with .040 styrene for a smooth outer skin. What I won't be doing is the model that was shown in the show when Sean Donovan was playing with his friend, and they commented on the little action figures. If you look closely, you can see some sort of small wooden stick or dowel holding up the doors and they are taped on the inside. Also, this model has the wrong rear pod. All of the rear pods on Visitor ships always have the single window on the sides and tops, not the doubles. Anyways, attaching the windows and the rest of the sheeting next! Attached Thumbnails

05-03-2010, 04:29 AM	#13
Robot Monster Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Brookline NH Posts: 2,907	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship Such a great looking ship. I loved the look of them. They just seemed to functional to me. The small shuttles, troop transports, tankers, they were great designs and far above what they are using in the new show. You are going a great job. Any more details on how you are forming this would be most welcome. I am not a fan of the new series and find the designs uninspired and the plot boring. Glad to see some old V projects going on.

05-03-2010, 06:40 AM	#14
knightdriver2001 Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,234	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship I love the photo above of the kids playing with the craft. Note the tooth pick taped in place holding the hatch opened. I to agree that the new version of this show stinks. A big insult to the original series. lacks any kind of inspiring designs at all and WAY TO MUCH CGI in it.

05-03-2010, 06:57 AM	#15
Pegasus_san Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Spain Posts: 5	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship Incredible man!! I´m now watching the 2009 remake. Those ships looks great so far

05-03-2010, 08:47 AM	#16
Beechy McFly Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 986	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship * Puts hand up for one * So in if ya offering.. Awesome job as usual.. Pmed ya too..

05-03-2010, 01:57 PM	#18
starwarsdoc Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 194	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship Man, I'd buy one of these if you'd sell them. Love it.

05-03-2010, 09:50 PM	#20
morrris99 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Sunny Arizona Posts: 155	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship So many things to comment on... I am a HUGE fan of the original ships. I always thought they were truly beautiful AND completely functional. On so much SciFi (ESPECIALLY TREK) there are so many different designs. Practicality wouldn't allow that in real life, I don't think. While I enjoy the cool spaceships like everyone else, there's something to be said for "well thought-out craft with real purpose". The Visitor Spacecraft that were designed by Chuck Davis always inspired me. Much like the Eagle Transporter spacecraft of Space 1999. Function first, aesthetics second. Back on topic, the Visitor Spacecraft have such graceful curves on the front, and the lizard-skin lined underbellies of the Skyfighters gave them that mixture of reptile and machine that just seemed to go together so perfectly. Anyways, next update is the window sections in place and some of the sheeting complete. I ran out of .040 styrene, so I have to get some more. I do plan to sell this when complete. I don't know what I would ask, and I would probably be open to offers. I was thinking of putting it on the bay and make it continental US only. It's just so big, I think the shipping would be horrendous. Well, I have to finish it first. Thanks for the comments, and please keep watching. Attached Thumbnails

05-03-2010, 09:55 PM	#21
morrris99 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Sunny Arizona Posts: 155	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship Also, about the new show. It's hard to find some good pictures of the new transport ships. My first impression of them was some kind of fat space bug-bus. It doesn't look like they're modular or anything like that. Pretty much a "ho-hum". I'm sure some other enterprising individual will build one. For me, it's Classic V all the way! Last edited by morrris99; 05-03-2010 at 10:35 PM.

05-05-2010, 01:41 AM	#22
morrris99 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Sunny Arizona Posts: 155	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship Okay, sheeting complete. I'm puttying all the seams now with some squadron green putty. I rounded the pod edges with some styrene 1/4 rounds to keep the basic curve shape around the corners. Has anyone else worked with Foam Core board? I've gone through about 8 or 9 Xacto blades now. Seems like a few cuts through this stuff and there's a real noticeable difference when trying to cut through the outer paper layer. After this is sanded smooth the next step will be the blocky sections on top with what look like vents. On the window pod sections, there seem to be 6 vents (3 on each side of the round disk on the very top) and 10 vents on the door section pods (5 on each side). Thanks for watching! Attached Thumbnails

05-06-2010, 09:54 PM	#24
morrris99 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Sunny Arizona Posts: 155	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship Okay, the top sections of the pods are built. I also sanded the corners of the pods. I made these top pieces out of a balsa interior, with a few layers of .015 styrene on top. I cut out the "vent" slots like on all the studio models, and added the round disks at the top. To make the disks, I just drew a circle on some .040 styrene, made a basic cutout of it. I drilled a hole in the center and mounted the styrene on a Dremel mandrel in my drill. I spun the drill and with a steady hand put a little pressure on my circle line with my Xacto blade. The top sections are slightly curved at the top. More putty in the gaps, and next I'll work on the trim around the pods. Attached Thumbnails

05-07-2010, 02:19 PM	#25
fuzzylover Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Salisbury, MA. Posts: 163	Re: Large Scale Visitor Squad ship I'll try to get some photos posted in the next day or two, but upon mention of some visitor figs..........I'm currently sculpting some. They're fully articulated and I plan on having one body with 3 interchangeable heads (one shocktrooper helmet, one 'human' guise with sunglasses and cap, and one lizard reveal). Perhaps there'll be some way to collaborate.........I'd love to get multiples cast and I've always wanted a ship or two. (I might have the PB to your chocolate!)

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